Repeat Builder
Start the second one at full speed.
Prior success predicts success, but experience alone barely does. WE brings a steered team and a written method on Day One, so you skip the rebuild.
For anyone building a second or later company, whether the last one succeeded, was sold or closed.
Your second company should not start from zero.
What usually gets in the way
- Rebuilding a team and an operating system from scratch.
- Trusting the old playbook too much in a new market.
- No one at your level to push back.
What WE does
- Begin at the phase your company is in, not at the start.
- Outside governance at every monthly and quarterly review.
- Scale the team up or down by notice as the work changes.
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30%
success rate after a prior success, against 22% after a failure and 21% for first-timers
Gompers, Kovner, Lerner and Scharfstein (venture-backed founders) . Venture-backed founders.
Venture-backed founders only; success means the company went public.
These figures describe all new U.S. businesses, not WE's results.
What carries over to the next company
Share of venture-backed founders whose next company went public: 30% after a prior success, 22% after a prior failure, 21% for first-time founders.
These figures describe all new U.S. businesses, not WE's results.
Share of venture-backed founders whose next company went public: 30% after a prior success, 22% after a prior failure, 21% for first-time founders.
Source: Gompers, Kovner, Lerner and Scharfstein (venture-backed founders) .
Venture-backed founders only; success means the company went public.
Show the data
| Group | Percent succeeding |
|---|---|
| After a prior success | 30% |
| After a prior failure | 22% |
| First-time founders | 21% |
Questions people ask
- I have done this before.
- Yes, and that is why you know what the first year costs. WE removes the rebuild so you can start at the phase you are in.
- I already have my network.
- Good. Keep it. WE is not a network. WE is a team and a method.
- How is WE paid?
- WE is paid for work already done. The agreement sets every term before you sign.
The long game
Move fast every week. Build for the decade.
You have built before, so you know the weekly pace. WE adds capacity to it and keeps the plan patient across the years.
Every week
Fast, and written down.
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1 Plan The week’s cycle is set in writing. -
2 Build A dedicated team ships the work. -
3 Report A written status, every week. -
4 Decide You say yes or no to the next cycle.
Every year
Patient, because the odds turn slowly.
Most new businesses close in the first five years. After that, each year survived makes the next more likely. WE paces the work to that curve.
Join the programs that fit
Add capacity, and keep your network growing.
You know how this goes. Keep your network current with founder communities and investor relations events, and let WE carry the build.
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Founder communities
Peers who have also done it before.
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Investor communities
Angel groups and investor relations events.
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University and lab programs
Access to research and talent for the next company.
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SBIR and STTR
Technical ideas can start with an SBIR or STTR application while the team forms.
Independent programs that WE encourages founders to consider. No affiliation or endorsement is implied. WE works alongside them, for the long run.
How it fits
The core of the business can be built on a screen: software, a digital product, or a service run on software and expertise. You can fund a team from revenue, savings, outside capital or a corporate budget.
Sources
- Skill vs. Luck in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital (Gompers, Kovner, Lerner and Scharfstein), NBER Working Paper 12592, National Bureau of Economic Research . Accessed October 14, 2026.